The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation

The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation Formerly known as Made with Love and Hope. Matthew was a gifted young musician with a generous spirit and a deep care for others.

The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation is a nonprofit organization created in memory of Matthew Lane Hobby, sharing resources that support suicide prevention awareness, mental health education, and community outreach. At The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation, our mission is rooted in remembrance, compassion, and a commitment to raising awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. This initiative was created in memory of Matthew Lane Hobby, whose life continues to inspire purposeful action and meaningful conversation. After his passing, his family sought a way to transform grief into something life-affirming — a way to honor Matthew while helping others feel seen, supported, and less alone. Over time, our mission has grown beyond its origins, sharing resources and initiatives that encourage awareness, education, and open dialogue around mental health. Through community engagement and purposeful outreach, we seek to reduce stigma and foster understanding. As our mission continues to evolve, we remain grounded in the belief that every life has value and that hope can be cultivated through connection, compassion, and intentional action.

💜🩵 Today is World Su***de Prevention Day.Around the world, people and organizations are coming together around a shared ...
09/10/2026

💜🩵 Today is World Su***de Prevention Day.

Around the world, people and organizations are coming together around a shared purpose: preventing su***de and creating communities where people can find connection, understanding, and support.

The international theme for World Su***de Prevention Day is “Changing the Narrative on Su***de.”

Changing that narrative means moving away from silence, stigma, and misunderstanding and toward greater openness, compassion, knowledge, and support.

It means being willing to say the word su***de. To notice when something has changed and care enough to check in. To ask directly, “Are you thinking about su***de?” To listen without judgment, help someone connect with appropriate support, and continue showing up afterward.

But su***de prevention is bigger than any one conversation. It also means strengthening connections, creating places where mental health can be discussed honestly, improving access to care and resources, and helping more people become prepared to respond.

Su***de is complex. No single person can know everything another person is carrying, and prevention cannot rest on the shoulders of one friend, family member, coworker, or community member.

But all of us can become better prepared to care for the people around us.

We can learn. We can notice. We can ask. We can listen. We can connect. We can follow up.

At The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation, su***de prevention is about more than preventing a death. It is also about helping create the connection, support, resources, and opportunities that can make continued life possible.

Today, do more than recognize a date on the calendar.

Learn something. Start a conversation. Save 988 in your phone. Check in with someone. Become better prepared to help.

And carry those actions with you beyond today.

💜🩵 Make Life Happen.

If you or someone you know needs support, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. If there is an immediate life-threatening emergency, call 911.

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💜 A Little Reminder for Su***de Prevention Month 💜These beautiful handmade su***de prevention awareness ribbon earrings ...
09/09/2026

💜 A Little Reminder for Su***de Prevention Month 💜

These beautiful handmade su***de prevention awareness ribbon earrings are still available throughout September!

Our friend Christine First-Friedel handcrafted and generously donated each pair to The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation as her own way of supporting our mission. Because Christie donated the earrings, the full $15 from every pair supports the Foundation’s work in su***de prevention awareness, mental health education, and compassionate community support.

Each pair is $15, and quantities are limited because Christie is making them by hand.

Wear them during Su***de Prevention Month. Give a pair to someone you care about. Or simply wear them as a quiet reminder that every life matters and no one should have to face the hard days alone.

💜 $15 per pair
💜 Handmade and donated by Christie
💜 Full $15 supports The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation

If you’d like a pair, send us a private message, and we’ll arrange payment and pickup or delivery.

Christie, thank you again for sharing your time and talent with us. 💙

Make Life Happen.


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💜🩵 **What would you say?**Imagine someone you know has been going through a difficult time. Lately, you've noticed they'...
09/09/2026

💜🩵 **What would you say?**

Imagine someone you know has been going through a difficult time. Lately, you've noticed they're pulling away from people, and something about the change concerns you.

You want to check in—but you're not sure how to begin.

You don't need a carefully rehearsed speech. You can start with what you've noticed and give the other person room to respond:

**“I've noticed you've seemed a little more withdrawn lately. How are you doing?”**

If the answer is “I'm fine,” you don't necessarily have to end the conversation there. If you're still concerned, you might gently follow up:

**“I know you said you're fine, but I wanted to ask because I care about you. How are you really doing?”**

Then listen.

Try not to rush to solve the problem, compare their experience to your own, or immediately reassure them that everything will be okay. Sometimes the most important thing you can do first is make it clear that you're willing to hear an honest answer.

And if what you hear—or what you've already noticed—gives you reason to be concerned about su***de, it's okay to ask directly:

**“Are you thinking about su***de?”**

Asking the question does not cause or increase suicidal thoughts. It can open the door to a conversation that someone may not have known how to begin.

You don't need perfect words.

You need enough care to start the conversation—and enough willingness to listen to where it leads.

💜🩵 **Make Life Happen.**

If you or someone you know needs support, help is available. **Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.** If there is an immediate life-threatening emergency, call 911.

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💜🩵 **Sometimes the hardest part of a difficult conversation is beginning it.**We may notice that something seems differe...
09/08/2026

💜🩵 **Sometimes the hardest part of a difficult conversation is beginning it.**

We may notice that something seems different about someone we care about and still hesitate to say anything. We may worry that we're overreacting, that we'll make things awkward, or that we won't know what to say if the conversation becomes more serious than we expected.

But meaningful conversations about mental health don't require perfect words.

They can begin with an observation: **“I've noticed you haven't seemed like yourself lately.”**

They can begin with a question: **“How are you really doing?”**

And when there is reason to be concerned about su***de, they can become direct: **“Are you thinking about su***de?”**

Being willing to have the conversation doesn't mean assuming we know what someone is experiencing. It means creating an opportunity for them to tell us.

Our September article, **“Su***de Prevention Is More Than Preventing a Death,”** explores why conversation, connection, preparation, appropriate intervention, and follow-up are all parts of su***de prevention.

🔗 https://www.mlh-foundation.org/resource/blog

Tomorrow, we'll take this one step further with a practical question:

**What would you actually say?**

💜🩵 **Make Life Happen.**

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💜🩵 Su***de-prevention awareness belongs in the places where everyday life happens.Throughout September, people visiting ...
09/07/2026

💜🩵 Su***de-prevention awareness belongs in the places where everyday life happens.

Throughout September, people visiting The Chill Bean in Centreville, Michigan and The Parlor in Sturgis, Michigan may encounter messages from The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation in a slightly unexpected place—on a coffee sleeve or through one of our su***de-prevention bookmarks.

We're grateful to both businesses for being willing to make space for these resources during Su***de Prevention Month. Their participation helps bring su***de-prevention and mental-health information beyond our website, social media, and educational programs and into places where people naturally gather and connect.

We're also grateful to Adyson Mastny, daughter of Foundation Board Member Aimee Mastny, whose artwork is featured at the center of this year's coffee sleeve. Adyson created the “Brew Today’s Hope One Cup at a Time” design, bringing her own creativity to a community effort centered on connection, awareness, and hope.

Together, the sleeve's messages encourage conversation, support, awareness, and connection to resources. The bookmarks provide another resource people can take with them, including information about potential su***de warning signs and the 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline.

A coffee sleeve or bookmark cannot replace a conversation, professional care, or su***de-prevention training, but each can create another opportunity for someone to encounter information they may need, think differently about mental health, or begin a conversation that might otherwise never happen.

That's one way a community can participate in su***de prevention: by making room for the message.

If you visit The Chill Bean or The Parlor this month, take a moment to look for the sleeves and bookmarks.

To The Chill Bean, The Parlor, and Adyson: thank you for helping us bring this work into the everyday places where people connect. 💜🩵

Make Life Happen.

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💜🩵 **You don't have to be a mental-health professional to notice when something has changed.**Maybe someone who usually ...
09/05/2026

💜🩵 **You don't have to be a mental-health professional to notice when something has changed.**

Maybe someone who usually joins the conversation has become unusually quiet. A friend has started withdrawing. A coworker doesn't seem like themselves. Someone you know is going through a painful loss, major change, or difficult period, and something about the way they're responding concerns you.

None of those things tells you exactly what someone is experiencing, and noticing a change does not mean you can—or should—diagnose what is happening.

But you can notice.

You can check in.

You can make room for an honest answer instead of assuming everything is fine.

Sometimes that begins with something as ordinary as:

**“I've noticed you don't seem like yourself lately. How are you doing?”**

You don't need to know exactly what is wrong before you care enough to ask.

As Su***de Prevention Month continues, we'll talk more about potential warning signs, when concern may warrant asking directly about su***de, and what you can do with the answer.

For today, remember this: **noticing isn't diagnosing. It's paying attention to someone who matters.**

💜🩵 **Make Life Happen.**

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💜🩵 **Su***de prevention begins before a crisis.**When we hear *su***de prevention*, we may picture the moment when someo...
09/04/2026

💜🩵 **Su***de prevention begins before a crisis.**

When we hear *su***de prevention*, we may picture the moment when someone is already in danger and immediate help is needed. Responding effectively in that moment matters—but prevention is bigger than crisis response.

It also includes strengthening connection, creating environments where people can talk honestly about mental health, improving access to care and support, building coping and problem-solving skills, and learning how to recognize and respond when someone may be struggling.

That means su***de prevention doesn't belong only to crisis counselors or mental-health professionals. Families, workplaces, schools, churches, community organizations, healthcare systems, and ordinary people can all contribute to communities where people are better supported before a crisis develops.

We cannot prevent every crisis or know everything another person is carrying. But we can help create more opportunities for connection, conversation, support, and earlier intervention.

That's part of su***de prevention, too.

**Where can we make more room for mental-health conversations in our own communities?**

💜🩵 **Make Life Happen.**

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💜🩵 **Weekly Coloring Pages — Week 16****Good Things Are Still Ahead for You.**It can be difficult to see beyond what is ...
09/03/2026

💜🩵 **Weekly Coloring Pages — Week 16**

**Good Things Are Still Ahead for You.**

It can be difficult to see beyond what is happening right now, especially during a stressful, uncertain, or painful season. We don't always know what comes next, and hope doesn't require us to pretend that everything will suddenly become easy.

Sometimes it simply means leaving room for the possibility that life can hold something different than what today looks like.

This week's coloring page is the final page in **Collection 02**. Over the past 16 weeks, we've shared these pages as a simple resource for slowing down, reflecting, creating, and making a little space for yourself.

Although this collection is ending, our coloring-page resources will remain available on the Foundation website. We're also considering what the next chapter of this resource might look like.

Download Week 16 and explore the complete collection here:

🔗 https://www.mlh-foundation.org/resource/coloring-pages?category=Collection%2002

Take your time with this one.

**Good things may still be ahead.** 💜🩵

*Our coloring pages are intended as a supportive wellness resource and are not a substitute for professional mental-health care.*

💜🩵 **MYTH: Asking someone about su***de might put the idea in their head.****FACT: Asking directly about su***de does no...
09/02/2026

💜🩵 **MYTH: Asking someone about su***de might put the idea in their head.**

**FACT: Asking directly about su***de does not cause or increase suicidal thoughts or behavior.**

Fear of saying the wrong thing can keep us from asking an important question. But when we are concerned about someone, avoiding the word *su***de* does not make the concern go away.

You can ask clearly and directly:

**“Are you thinking about su***de?”**

You do not need perfect words. You do not need to diagnose what someone is experiencing. You can care enough to ask—and be willing to listen to the answer.

Throughout Su***de Prevention Month, we'll continue talking about what to notice, how to ask, how to listen, and what to do next.

💜🩵 **Make Life Happen.**

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💜🩵 September is Su***de Prevention Month.When we hear the words *su***de prevention*, it can be easy to think first abou...
09/01/2026

💜🩵 September is Su***de Prevention Month.

When we hear the words *su***de prevention*, it can be easy to think first about a moment of crisis—recognizing that someone is in danger and helping connect them with immediate support.

That matters. But su***de prevention is also much broader.

It can begin earlier, with mental-health education, meaningful connection, noticing when something has changed, and creating space for honest conversations. It includes learning how to ask directly about su***de, how to listen to the answer, and how to help someone connect with appropriate support. And it continues afterward, through follow-up, treatment, community, and the ordinary ways we keep showing up for one another.

Throughout September, The Matthew Lane Hobby Foundation will be talking directly about these things. We'll look at warning signs, common misconceptions, practical language you can use, what to do when you're concerned about someone, su***de-prevention training, resources, follow-up, and the role ordinary people can play.

We're beginning with our September article:

**Su***de Prevention Is More Than Preventing a Death**

Because prevention isn't only about helping someone survive a crisis. It is also about helping make continued life possible.

🔗 https://www.mlh-foundation.org/resource/blog

Stay with us this month. Learn something you didn't know. Have a conversation you might once have avoided. And help us bring practical su***de-prevention knowledge into more homes, workplaces, schools, churches, and communities.

💜🩵 **Make Life Happen.**

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Sturgis, MI
49091

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+12692579645

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